WHAT BALI TAUGHT ME ABOUT TRUST
While attending a Kecak Dance performance in Bali, I watched as a man scattered coconut shells across the stage floor and doused them in accelerant, then set them ablaze. My curiosity shifted to disbelief when another man began walking on the flaming shells. The shells crackled and sparked beneath his feet, but he moved through the fire with confidence as I captured the photo above. I didn't understand why this was happening exactly, but I was completely entranced by the man's trust that he would come out of the fire unscathed.
In retrospect, this moment became the perfect metaphor for my entire experience traveling in Bali: trust is fundamental.
A few days earlier, relaxing on the dock of the hotel, I was approached by one of the workers at the property. “What do you have planned while you're here?” he asked. After responding that I really didn't have much planned at all he said, “I have a friend who can show you around the island…” A few hours later I had agreed on a time and price for my tour.
The next day, the hotel worker zoomed me down the street on the back of his scooter, where I met his friend, hopped into the back of his pickup, and had one of the best days in my time there. It's one of my favorite travel memories.
I began to realize that this casual and personal approach was the norm in Bali. People regularly recommended their friends and family members as tour guides. Nothing was official—money changed hands without receipts, and customer service departments didn't exist. And while this sounds a bit scary (and honestly, felt a bit scary at the outset), I had some of the most authentic and exciting travel experiences during my time there.
What I learned in Bali challenged my limited and rigid thinking. In many ways, these informal systems were far superior to official channels. They were built on trust, sustained by communities where reputation is everything, and strengthened by generations of families devoted to hospitality. My experiences on the island were far more personal than anything an app or company could deliver.
The fire walker never needed my understanding to keep dancing on those coals, just as Bali's network of trust never needed my understanding. Once I learned to trust the process, I discovered a way of traveling—and being in the world—that felt more alive, more connected, and more real than any five-star reviewed experience on Google ever could match.